Half Six Fix: Beethoven's 'Choral' Symphony

Sir Simon Rattle conducts Beethoven’s final symphonic epic in this early-evening Half Six Fix concert, introduced on-stage by the conductor. 

Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony is the culmination of a life’s work, but it also contests everything he’d written before. Following a furious opening and stirring slow movement, the Ninth’s finale explodes into a remarkable mingling of musical styles, featuring operatic recitative, two fugues and a fantasia with choir and soloists singing the words of Friedrich Schiller’s Ode to Joy.

The Ninth proved a tough act to follow for generations of composers to come, but it’s a piece that burst open the doors on a radical future for the symphony.

This concert is part of Half Six Fix, a different way to experience the LSO, with an introduction to the music from Sir Simon Rattle, and digital programme notes on your phone or device. Grab a drink, take your seat and enjoy the music.

Part of Beethoven 250 at the Barbican